Dramione with a twist
by torchwoodfever.it's contagious
Summary: new version, most spelling should be correct. if not, i appologise in advance. my, now second, fanfiction. i don't own any of this.its like a normal dramione story but it has a twist. will fred ever get the girl he loves?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was their 7th year at Hogwarts. Hermione and Draco were no longer as 'secret' as they were at the start of the war. His parents found out when Draco saved Hermione from his aunt Bellatrix and then apparated the trio out of Malfoy Manor with three words to his parents who, all the time, stood shocked and glued to the spot. His words shocked his father the most, as his mother had already guessed something was up between the two, call it 'mothers intuition' if you will, with Draco's hesitation to identify them and that he could not look at his aunt during the torture. His words were short, sharp and gave an excellent explanation for his actions. They were "I love her."

Harry and Ron were almost as shocked as lucius and Bellatrix. Hermione was a shocked as Narcissa, but when she looked over at Draco's mother, she didn't see the anger or disgust she expected. Instead she saw a genuine smile that went all the way to her eyes. This was made up for by the disgusted look on his father's face. At first, lucius thought his son was playing with the 'Mudblood', but once lucius looked into Draco's eyes, he saw what that 'filth' had done to his son. Made him weak. Vulnerable.

Harry's reaction was much like Ginny's. They had had to explain things to her when she had walked in on them in the heads dorm, kissing. At first, he shot a glare at Draco because he didn't believe his words and had to make sure it was true. Harry looked at Draco's eyes and his expression immediately softened when he saw the pure love in his eyes whenever he looked at Hermione.

Ron, however, was not as understanding as harry was about Hermione and Draco and, as soon as they had vacated the manor, sent a jinx at Draco to separate him from Hermione. It had become common knowledge at this point that Ron had a crush on Hermione. Even she knew. He had proclaimed his love for her one night when they were making dinner in the tent she had shared with him and Harry on their hunt for the 7 Horcruxes. Needless to say, she let him down gently, but dare mention Malfoy for the next few weeks Ron felt betrayed by Hermione and took longer to come to terms with the couple.

Malfoy then turned to the order, which didn't trust him, but trusted Harry and Hermione's judgement. He assisted in the downfall of Voldemort and earned the trust of the other order members. Draco said to himself, that if he could save just one order members life, it would be worth it. He managed to save 3. Draco saved 3 lives and 1 childhood in 1 day. George Weasley, along with the rest of the Weasley family, Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin treated Draco like family and never mentioned his father's death.

Draco had killed his father in the war in order to save Lupin and his mother had lost her mind because of her husband and was confined to St. Mungo's hospital. This left Draco with no family to go home to and he didn't fancy the idea of living at Malfoy Manor on his own, which is when the Weasleys took him in as one of their own.

Draco took to life with a loving family well, and gave ¾ of the Malfoy fortune to the Weasleys to help them re-build the burrow. Living with the Weasleys was hard at first, given what his father had done to them but he was soon spending afternoons with them playing  
>Quidditch, and it helped that Hermione and Harry spent so much time at the burrow. He felt like he finally had a family and a place to call home.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

All 9 of them were sat in a compartment of the Hogwarts express when Professor McGonagall came to talk to Draco and Hermione.

"ah, I'm glad I caught you both." She said, walking up to the two of them on their walk around the train. "I have the most wonderful news for you both. I must say that I'm so glad you are acting to promote house unity. I-"

"Sorry to interrupt you, professor, but Hermione and I are not acting. We really are friends." Draco interrupted, smiling at Hermione.

"oh, I see. I apologise, it's just that you two aren't exactly the most likely of friends. Well, this just makes the news even greater, doesn't it. Draco, Hermione, this year you two are our head boy and girl." McGonagall was ecstatic for the couple. Hermione jumped and gave Draco a hug. She went to kiss him but realised that with professor McGonagall there, she should just settle for a hug.

They made to go back to their compartment to tell Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hannah, Blaise, Neville and Luna when they were stopped again. Apparently McGonagall had more to say.

"As head boy and girl, you have more privileges than you did when you were prefects. You have your own living quarters although you do both share a common room. You have your own library and bathroom…" at this Hermione was grinning like a love-struck school girl. The mere mention of the head library sent her imagination wild. Draco noticed this and smiled at her. He loved it when she was happy. He noticed that McGonagall was still talking and figured that he should be paying attention. "As I'm sure you are both aware, you are to hold prefect meetings at least 4 times a year. The prefects are to be told their passwords to their house common room by you two so they can lead the first years to their dorms. Any questions?"

Draco and Hermione both looked at each other, then turned back to the professor and said "no." with this professor McGonagall concluded their chat and asked them to follow her. She showed the two to a compartment especially for the head boy and girl. Draco and Hermione were shocked to see that it was dark inside. When they entered, their friends jumped out and screamed "CONGRATULATIONS!" at the couple. Professor McGonagall laughed, said her congratulations and then left the students to enjoy one of their last journeys on the Hogwarts express as students together.

"How did you guys find out? McGonagall only just told us." Hermione enquired, after looking at Draco who was still in shock from the surprise as no one had ever done anything like that for him.

"Oh… well…" Neville wasn't quite sure how to explain but Ron and Harry jumped in to save him.

"Fred and George were asking McGonagall who would be the head boy because Draco really deserved it…" Ron started to explain.

"And then Molly and Arthur went to talk to her about the head girl position because, really, no one else would be a better fit for that position than you Hermione…" Harry continued.

"And they found out that there were no other candidates for the position." Blaise chipped in, seeing the tears starting to well up in both Hermione and Draco's eyes. He wasn't sure if the two were upset or happy, so he tried to cheer them up.

"So then Neville came up with this idea and we used some of Fred and George's Peruvian instant darkness powder in here and used Harry's cloak to get in here, and now here we are explaining everything." Luna concluded.

It was official, Draco thought, I have the best friends a guy could ask for. And the best girlfriend too for that matter. And on that note, he leant down and captured Hermione's lips with a kiss that could put Harry and Ginny to shame.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hermione's birthday was coming up and Draco was at a complete loss. He had the money to buy her Flourish and Blots, but he knew that she wouldn't appreciate it much. He decided to hold a brainstorming session with Blaise, Harry, Neville and Ron to get ideas.

He also invited Ginny, Hannah and Luna to keep Hermione pre-occupied and to give them ideas for presents. He hoped that the girls would find a way to inconspicuously convey ideas to the boys and still occupy Hermione.

The boys were about to give up with the brainstorming when they heard a squeal from Hermione's room. Draco sprang to his feet, grabbed his wand and motioned for the others to do the same. He burst into Hermione's room, boys in tow, to the sound of music. Draco heard Hermione call to Ginny to turn up the volume because she loved this artist. Draco couldn't see where the music was coming from, until Ginny gave Harry a curious look and he approached a silver box that Harry called a "CD player". Then Draco had an idea.

"I don't know what it is about them Gin, I just prefer this type of music. I love how it's got an old fashioned feel to it, you know? Oh… hi Draco, boys." Hermione was saying to Ginny as she walked out of the room she was in.

"Hey beautiful, so what's your favourite song by these people?" Draco asked, already forming a plan for her birthday. It was brilliant, if he did say so himself. He just didn't know some key things" and where's your favourite place in school? That's not the library." He added when he saw her open her mouth to answer the obvious.

"Oh, ok then. Well my favourite song by the Baseballs is 'Bleeding love' but I also like 'Don't feel like dancing' by them too. And there is also 'Sh-Boom' by the Overtones. As for my favourite place in school… well I guess it would have to be the Slytherin stand in the Quidditch pitch." She answered "because of the view of the lake and I get to some of my best friends play Quidditch together." She added as she saw the confused, supprised and questioning looks she was receiving from the boys and Ginny.

Draco notices that only Ginny was with Hermione when he was sure that earlier there had been more girls there with his girlfriend to keep her company whilst he and the boys had their brainstorming session. He felt bad for Ginny because he knew how Hermione could get if she was kept in the dark. She was never a happy bunny.

Draco had had to learn the hard way not to keep Hermione obviously in the dark for too long, because he hadn't been living with the Weasleys long when he had a surprise for her to keep her mind off of her parent's funeral. Her parents had been killed by his father in the war and he had felt like it was his fault since he found out.

Hermione had offered Draco a biscuit that had, once again, turned him into the 'amazing bouncing ferret'. Molly was the one to find him and, after discovering that it was in fact Draco and he had eaten a Weasley biscuit, had demanded Fred and George turn him back immediately.

Unfortunately for Draco, he had to wait for the effects to wear off before he was human again as the twins didn't have a way to reverse the charm. Hermione also learnt not to give Draco a Weasley product when he had a surprise waiting for her because it meant that she was kept in the dark longer than she would have been as the surprise was for that afternoon and the effects of the biscuit lasted for 1½ months.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hermione was torn. The coming weekend would be hell. It always had been her least favourite Quidditch match, mainly because the Slytherins play dirty, but it was even worse this week. Mainly because she was playing instead of just watching.

The Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin Quidditch match always had the biggest crowd and the most pressure because the captains had always hated each other. However, now, Draco and Harry were good friends.

Hermione had always had to cheer for Draco in secret, but now that Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff knew about and accepted Draco and Hermione's relationship, she could openly cheer for him. Providing it was just him and Blaise and not the entire Slytherin Quidditch team.

It was the first match of the season and Ginny had been out cold because some 6th year Slytherins had slipped her a cauldron of sleepeaze potion. This meant that Gryffindor were down a chaser. That's when Ron had suggested to Harry that Hermione should play for Ginny.

Ron remembered how, when they were playing over the summer at the burrow, Hermione had scored on her own, as Ginny had fallen, against Ron, Bill, Charlie, Arthur and Draco. Harry, of course, being captain thought this was a great idea so told the team at their next practice.

Draco had been supportive of her and, since she didn't have a broom, had given her his fire bolt his mother had given him one year. Hermione was shocked at this reaction, because before this he had tried to talk her out of playing such a dangerous sport. When he saw that it was hopeless, he gave in. But not before casting every defensive and protective spell he knew on her just before the match.

During the match, the Slytherin beaters had taken out the other two chasers so it was only Hermione. She had suspected in her first year that Slytherins could smell fear and thought that was why they had left her alone, when in actual fact, before the match Draco had talked to his team about her and told them that she was off limits. No harm should come to her during that match or he would hold them all responsible and kick them off the team. All except Blaise of course, who was his best mate and Hermione's too. After he had gotten rid of their best chaser because he called Hermione a 'Mudblood', his threats were not taken lightly.

Hermione was fast approaching the Slytherin goals and keeper when she saw them. Harry and Draco were staring at something that seemed to be approaching Hermione, and fast. That's when she heard it. The whistling of a bludger quickly getting louder. Harry and Draco both sped towards her, Harry taking a detour by a Gryffindor beater to use her bat.

Hermione could see fear in Draco's eyes and decided to look. She would know a week later that this was a big mistake. SMACK!

Hermione was falling off her broom, unconscious. Draco quickly changed course and, between him and Blaise, managed to get Hermione onto the back of Draco's broom. Draco saw that Harry had caught the snitch and decided that it was to end the game, not to win. Draco didn't bother flying down to the ground. He instead flew straight to the hospital wing, making sure that Hermione was still safe.

"Ah! Mr Malfoy what have I said about…" Madam Pomfrey stopped abruptly when she notices the unconscious form of Hermione granger on the back of his broom. "Oh dear."

"I'm sorry Madam Pomfrey, but I thought it would be best to bring her straight to you. She was smacked in the head by a bludger." Draco explained in a tone of voice that was thick with worry.

"Yes, yes. Of course Mr Malfoy. You were correct, of course. Put her here." She replied, gesturing to one of the hospital beds. "Mr Malfoy-"

"Please call me Draco, Madam Pomfrey. Mr Malfoy makes me sound so much like my father." Draco sighed. His father. He never really cared about Draco and Draco hated that he had such an awful family.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry Draco." Madam Pomfrey then started examining Hermione. "Draco, I'm sorry to say that it doesn't look good. She has suffered a severe blow to the head. She could be unconscious for weeks. I'll go contact her parents and notify them of Hermione's accident."

"No, Madam Pomfrey you can't." Draco sighed, remembering what his father had done.

"And why, may I ask, is that?" Draco could tell that Madam Pomfrey was getting agitated by him and so decided to tell her the whole story.

"Well, my father went to their house one night, in search for Hermione. When he got there, he only found her parents and they wouldn't tell him where she was. He tortured them, and when he realised that they didn't know where she was and they were no use to him, he killed them. That is why you cannot contact her parents. You should contact Molly Weasley instead. She lives with them now." Draco allowed one solitary tear to fall at the memory of what his father had done.

"Oh, thank-you for notifying me Mr… Draco. I shall contact Molly then. You are welcome to stay with her but if Mr potter or Mr Weasley come, please inform them of what shall happen." And with that, she left Draco to sit with Hermione.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hermione was unconscious for an entire week and during that time; Draco never left her side, despite Professor McGonagall and Molly telling him to go to his dorm room or to the great hall to get some food. Needless to say he didn't listen to them. He slept in the hospital wing right next to Hermione and at meals; Harry, Ron, Blaise and Neville would bring him some food and try to get him to eat it.

When Hermione woke up, she saw Draco asleep in the chair by her bed with his head on his crossed arms lying by Hermione's side. She smiled at him and wondered how long he had been there as well as how much school she had missed.

"1 week. Draco hasn't left since he brought you here granger. In that time, I think he's only eaten a few slices of toast and maybe a sandwich or two." Fred informed her when he saw the quizzical look on her face. He had missed her whilst she had been at Hogwarts, and it had worried him quite how much he missed her.

"You gave us quite a turn there Miss Granger." Madam Pomfrey said, handing her a pepper up potion.

"What happened? Who won the match? I've got to go to lessons." Hermione said whilst trying to get up quickly. She decided against it when the room started to spin, and lay back down. Fred smirked at her determination to go to lessons just to hide his admiration.

"Lay down Miss Granger. I'm sure Mr Malfoy can explain everything to you when he wakes up-"

"Is he alright? He's not hurt is he?" Hermione was speaking faster now and Fred was crest fallen, but managed to cover it up before she noticed.

"I should go. Good to see you awake Granger" He called back to her. He thought to himself _idiot! Why wouldn't she be worried about him? He's her boyfriend, not you._ He was mentally kicking himself as he left the hospital wing.

"Miss Granger! Lay down! Mr Malfoy will explain when he wakes up. He is fine. But for now, try not to make any sudden movements; it will only slow down your recovery." Madam Pomfrey assured her.

"Hermione?" Draco was starting to stir and looked up at where the voices were coming from. "Hermione! You're awake!" his eyes filled with joy at seeing his girlfriend awake and speaking. "Oh, thank Merlin. I don't know what I would do if I lost you, 'Mione."

"Draco, who won? What happened? What day is it?" Hermione asked. She didn't remember anything past Harry and Draco speeding towards her. "And why aren't you eating?" she added as an afterthought.

"Ok, ok. Hermione. Gryffindor won, you got smacked in the head by a bludger, it's Saturday and I have been eating." He answered honestly. "Just not much" he felt like adding as he could feel Hermione's eyes on him. He knew she wouldn't fall for it but was surprised when she left it at that.

At that moment, Harry, Ron and Blaise, with Neville and Ginny in tow, burst into the hospital wing.

"Hermione! Fred told us you were awake." Ron and Harry exclaimed, hugging her.

"You were really brave, Hermione. After what happened in first year, I don't think you could get me on a broom again." Neville appraised.

"Merlin girl, don't do that to us ever again! Draco hasn't left your side, not even for Quidditch practice." Blaise mock scolded whilst looking at an embarrassed Draco.

"Oh 'Mione, it hasn't been the same without you for the past week. I feel like this is all my fault! I'm so sorry!" Ginny looked like she was about to cry.

"Come here Gin" Hermione said, and pulled her into a hug. "It wasn't your fault. How were you meant to know about the Slytherin sleepeaze fetish?" she said, trying to get the girl in her arms to laugh. "Now, why have you been crying?" she asked when she saw that the boys were pre-occupied with Quidditch.

"Dean Thomas. He broke up with me because he said I spend too much time with Harry, Ron, Blaise and Neville. I told him that they are like my family, with the exception of Ron who, unfortunately, is my brother, but he wouldn't listen to me. He broke up with me when I woke up here 4 days ago." Ginny explained between sobs. "And then Draco saw me crying and he saw Dean looming over me like a giant. He came over and punched Dean and made him leave."

Draco was now more embarrassed than he had ever been in his life. He wanted the ground to swallow him up because now all the people in the hospital were looking at him in shock. Draco was brought out of his thoughts by a kiss from Hermione.

"ever the hero." Was all she had said. Draco quite liked that kind of reward. He would have to be a hero more often. This just made his idea for Hermione's birthday present even better.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Draco and the boys had been meeting once a week since Hermione was let out of the hospital to help Draco with Hermione's present whilst Ginny was giving Hermione chaser lessons as Harry had replaced one of Gryffindor's chasers with her.

Draco had enlisted the boys in helping him because he needed backup. His plan was to take place in the middle of the Quidditch pitch but they couldn't practice there as Hermione would be there. Draco chose those boys to help him because they could all sing. He had asked Hermione if he could borrow her CD player and the CDs they were listening to the other week.

They had finally cracked it! This was going to be the best birthday present Hermione ever got. The girls had no way of topping it. Or so he thought.

Whenever Hermione was training with Draco, the girls were getting together planning something. Of course, the girls were smarter than the boys so they planned in the room of requirement. The girls had been brainstorming the same time the boys had, but Ginny had to keep Hermione occupied, so they had a girly day in. the girls were planning a romantic date for her and Draco. Since they knew that they hadn't really had time to go on a date over the summer.

Hermione had told Ginny, when questioned, all about when Hermione and Draco first kissed. And when he first told her he loved her. The girls decided to reflect the date on their first kiss because when he first said that he loved her, it wasn't the most romantic of moments or the most cheery of places or times.

Their first kiss was in the room of requirement, around Christmas in their 6th year. This was the first time Draco had been into the room of requirement. He had organised a picnic for the two of them and had kissed her after she had fallen near the fire and burnt her hand.

The girls decided to leave out the injured hand because that would just be a bit creepy really and not the ideal thing to have on a date. Hermione had told Ginny how the room had been laid out and Ginny had relayed all the information to the rest of the girls.

"the boys have got no way of beating us this year!" Ginny exclaimed proudly as she admired their work on the room of requirement.

"the girls have no chance. Hermione will love this Draco." Harry re-assured his friend when he saw the doubt in his eyes.

"yer Draco, she will love whatever you give her" Ron chipped in.

"Of course she will, she's his girlfriend." Neville and Blaise both added.

"who is this she? The cat's mother? I hope you boys aren't talking about me now. I do have a name you know." Hermione said, drawing the attention of the boys to the doorway of Draco's room. "although, I also hope you are, since I am Draco's girlfriend, and I would hate to find out that Draco had two of them."

"Hermione" Draco said with a mixture of shock and worry on his face. " how long have you been standing there? How much have you heard?"

"relax Draco, I only just got back. I only heard from when Ron said 'she will love whatever you give her'." Hermione answered. She loved messing with Draco, but just didn't have the energy to do so after Quidditch practice with Ginny. "I'm going to sleep for a bit. Can you please wake me up in about an hour, please?"

"yer, sure. You go and sleep. You look exhausted." Draco smiled at her. He would do anything for that girl and she knew it.

"thanks" she smiled and left the room to her own. Yep, Draco would do anything for that one, anything at all.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

This was it. The day had finally arrived. Hermione's birthday. She woke up to a curious smell of bacon and eggy bread coming from the kitchen she shared with Draco. She was about to get up and investigate when Draco himself came in with a tray of food and a wrapped box with ribbon around it.

"What's this all about Draco?" she asked him, gesturing to the food first, and then the box.

"Well, it's breakfast in bed. And the box is a birthday present, so you're not meant to know that is. And they call you the brightest witch of our age. Honestly, where did they get that from? It's a most puzzling mystery." Draco answered her, smiling. He plan was working and he had timed everything right, he just hoped pansy followed through on her part.

"Very funny. I didn't know you could cook. Then again, I didn't expect you to know about eggy bread, or a frying pan for that matter." She retorted, laughing at her own joke. When Draco feigned hurt, she only laughed more.

"Ha, ha, ha, you're a comic genius. Now, eat your breakfast so I can explain your timetable for today." And with that, he gave her the tray and sat at the end of her bed. He then decided to get up and pick a dress for her to wear.

She didn't seem to have anything suitable for the occasion of her 18th birthday, so Draco transfigured one of her swim suits into a green and silver knee length strapless dress. He thought he had done well, and when he showed it to Hermione she gave it the nod of approval.

"Right, so-"

"Hang on Draco; I have to open this present first."

"Ok then." Draco sighed. Truth was that he hadn't thought of how suspicious she would get if he didn't give her a present in the morning and was glad that Fred Weasley was on hand.

Inside the box was a beautiful gold and silver necklace with a green snake and a red lion. The snake was made of emeralds and the lion was made of blood rubies.

"Oh Draco, it's beautiful." She said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much."

"I'm glad you like it. Now, the plan for today is that we spend the morning together; just me and you, and then we go to the Quidditch pitch around noon and meet everyone else. Then you're spending the rest of the day with the girls getting ready for a surprise later this evening." He explained.

They spent their time together in the morning just curled up by the fire talking to each other. When noon came around, everyone was already at the Quidditch pitch. Draco was getting nervous and Hermione could tell that there was something going on. The boys were stood with microphones in a 'V' formation with a space in the middle. Draco gave Hermione a quick kiss and went to join the others.

Hermione went over to Ginny and was about to ask her what was going on when music started. Hermione recognised the song instantly and realised what was about to happen. At that very moment, the boys started singing a version of the baseballs' copy of 'bleeding love' by Leona Lewis.

(A/N: the name in bold italics is who is singing that part of the song.)

_**Harry**_

Closed off from love, I didn't need the pain

Once or twice was enough and it was all in vain

Time starts to pass; before you know it you're frozen

_**Blaise**_

But something happened for the very first time with you

My heart melted to the ground, found something true

And everyone's looking 'round, thinking I'm going crazy

_**Draco**_

But I don't care what they say; I'm in love with you

They try to pull me away but they don't know the truth

My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing

_**All the boys**_

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

_**Neville**_

Trying hard not to hear but they talk so loud

Their piercing sounds fill my ears; try to fill me with doubt

Yet I know that the goal is to keep me from falling

_**Ron**_

But nothing's greater than the rush that comes with your embrace

And in this world of loneliness I see your face

Yet everyone around me thinks that I'm going crazy

Maybe, maybe

_**Draco**_

But I don't care what they say; I'm in love with you

They try to pull me away but they don't know the truth

My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing

_**All the boys**_

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

_**Draco**_

And it's draining all of me

Oh, they find it hard to believe

I'll be wearing these scars for everyone to see

I don't care what they say; I'm in love with you

They try to pull me away but they don't know the truth

My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

_**All the boys**_

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

"Hermione Granger, I l-"

"Wait a minute Drakey, what are you doing here with that filthy Mudblood?"

"Pansy! Go away. And never call Hermione that again. She is a better person than you will ever be." Draco was getting angry and Pansy loved it. Hermione made to run to Draco to calm him down, but pansy stopped her.

"Ah, ah, ah, Mudblood. One more step and I'll crucio you." Pansy knew what she was doing. She knew that if she threatened to hurt Hermione, it would only annoy Draco more.

"Pansy, don't you dare!" Draco's voice was rising and he knew it. Hermione didn't care anymore, she ran for it.

Hermione didn't hear pansy say anything, but she felt the pain of the Cruciatus curse all the same. She didn't hear Blaise disarm Pansy either, she just felt the pain stop, but she couldn't get up. She felt her wand being taken from her. She could just say "Draco. My wand." Before she felt the pain again. The world threatened to go black, and all she could hear was Pansy's evil cackle. The last thing she saw was Fred jumping between them. The last thing she said was "Fred…" then the world went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"PANSY PARKINSON! Detention an 50 points from Slytherin. Draco, get miss granger to the hospital wing immediately. Maybe she can spend the majority of the rest of her birthday at least conscious." Snape bellowed. He was saved by Hermione during the war and has always had a soft spot for her since. "And Draco… wish her a happy birthday from me."

Pansy, Ron and Harry stood shocked at Snape's reaction. The others knew about what happened with Snape and Hermione so it didn't come as much of a shock to them.

"Yes sir, I will professor." Draco said, whilst picking up Hermione in his arms. He was about to start running towards the castle when the professor spoke again.

"And Draco, give her this from me." He handed Draco a neatly wrapped parcel in birthday paper. Red paper with a gold ribbon, Gryffindor colours.

Draco started to sprint to the hospital wing, the boys and Ginny in tow. Harry's curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

"Say, Draco. What happened between Snape and Hermione to make him nice to her? And why was Snape there anyway? And what did Snape give you to give to Hermione? And how did Snape know it was her birthday?" Harry had more questions in his mind but thought that these would give the best explanation.

"Well, during the war, Snape kept tabs on me. So he knew I was safe. Hermione kept tabs on Snape and saw that he was in the boathouse with Voldemort. She noticed that Snape's dot was fading on some map or something. I didn't really understand her but couldn't ask her about it because she was already on her way to the boathouse.

"I don't know what happened there, just that Snape almost died and Hermione saved him." Draco answered just before bursting into the hospital wing, Blaise ran to get Madam Pomfrey and Draco put Hermione down onto one of the hospital beds.

"What is the meaning o… Oh my dears, what happened here?" Madam Pomfrey asked when she noticed Hermione on the bed and Draco nearly in tears.

"Pansy… Hermione… crucio… unconscious…Snape…ran…here" Draco managed to get out between sobs. "All… my… fault."

"Draco, mate, it's not your fault. You weren't to know Pansy would do something like that." Ginny tried reassuring him but decided to hug him as well.

"Yer Drake, it's not your fault that Pansy's a psychotic b-"Blaise chipped in but wasn't happy when Ginny stopped him swearing by kicking him in the shins. "What? She is!"

"Look Draco, Pansy's not strong enough to cause any lasting pain. I watched my parents lose their minds at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. It won't happen to Hermione. It won't happen again." Neville could relate to Draco differently to the others. Yes they all cared about Hermione, but only Neville and Draco knew what it was like to lose someone they cared about because of the Cruciatus curse. He had helped Draco sort arrangements for his mother in St. Mungo's.

Neville's words really hit home for Draco. He understood how hard it was for Neville to talk about his parents. Neville understood what he was going through. He was always there if Draco needed someone to talk to.

"Yer Draco, none of us blame you. And I'm sure Hermione won't either. But what I want to know is what Pansy was doing there in the first place. I mean, how did she know that we would be there? None of us said anything, did we?" Harry asked, looking around at Blaise, Neville, Ginny and Draco who all shook their heads, then everyone's eyes were on Ron. Draco let go of Ginny and apologised for making her shoulder wet from his tears. "Ron?"

"Hmm… oh, yer Harry?" Ron was looking suspicious and refused to meet anyone's eyes.

Harry looked at Ginny before responding, signalling for her to take Draco's wand, just in case. "Did you tell Pansy that we were going to the Quidditch pitch today for Hermione's birthday?" his voice had a hint of anger in it that didn't go un-noticed by anyone, least of all Ron.

"NO!" Ron answered, too quickly for Harry's liking, but even then it sounded forced and hesitant. "Why would I? What benefit would I get out of doing that?" Ron was being a coward and he knew it.

"Why Ron? You know what Pansy's capable of. And you know that she hates Hermione for taking Draco from her. Hermione's your best friend. This is something I would have expected from Percy, not you. But, hey, maybe your just a mini Percy, aye?" Ginny was disgusted by her brother and at that moment fled from the hospital wing. Draco looked at Harry and nodded, gesturing to the direction that Ginny had just gone in. Harry smiled and left in pursuit of Ginny. How Draco knew about Harry's feelings for Ginny he would never know, but for once, he was glad that Draco did.

It was all getting too much for Neville. Draco sensed this and smiled at him. He turned to Luna, who he had just noticed as she was standing behind Harry. He approached her and went to whisper in her ear "take Neville to the heads dorm and give him some cocoa. If you want, slip some Firewhiskey in it. It's in the top cupboard behind the cereal. It's in a blue bottle. Hermione hates it when I drink, so I have to hide it in different bottles." He explained, smiling, when he saw Luna's more confused than normal expression.

"Ok, but come get us when she wakes up, yer?"

"I will Luna, I will." Draco reassured her when she took Neville's hand and led him out of the hospital wing. Then he turned to Ron.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Right, he said, anger blatant in his voice. " I want to know exactly what you were thinking when you told Pansy about Hermione's birthday present, what you were going to get out of it, and what you would like first; jelly legs or a full body bind."

Ron felt a hand on his shoulder and span around quickly to see Fred and George behind him. "We knew you wouldn't have done something like that Ron." This seemed to calm him down a bit.

"Look mate-"

"Don't you 'mate' me Draco Malfoy!" Ron snapped.

"Ok, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight, alright? I thought that if Pansy was there then I could be a hero again, and Granger was getting boring anyway. I mean, she spends all her time studying and-"Draco wasn't able to finish his sentence as a fist collided with his face, rendering him unable to speak for a minute or two.

"Now you listen here, Malfoy. And you listen good. I always thought that it was fishy that you were dating Hermione and this just proves it. Why did I not tell Hermione earlier that I… ouch forge. That hurts, twin abuse much." Fred then realised what he would have said if George hadn't have stopped him and gave him a grateful smile.

"What's it to you anyway, Weasley? She chose me, not your brother. And she will not know about this, alright? Or when she does, you will have to be fed through a straw for the rest of your lives." Draco snapped. "What are you smirking at?" he added when he say George smirking at something behind him. As if he knew something that Draco didn't, and this annoyed him. He decided to turn around to see what it was when he was met with yet another fist. "What is it, beat up Draco day?"

"Something like that, yer. Why? Do you object?" Hermione answered his rhetorical question and ended with a slap. She couldn't believe he would do something like that to her. "Oh, and if you hadn't guessed, we are THROUGH! I HATE you Draco Malfoy. I never want to see you again." At this she sent a desperate look towards George and Ron, who both knew about Fred's feelings towards Hermione and as if they were telepathic, they both grabbed hold of one of Draco's forearms and started to drag him out of the hospital wing. "Fred, how… what happened?"

"I don't know Hermione, I really wish I could tell you, but I can't. I'm sorry. But I do have a present for you from Professor Snape. Obviously he didn't trust Draco with the real thing. Here" he said handing her a thin box, wrapped in periwinkle blue paper, her favourite colour. "You better get some rest missy. I'll stay here with you if you want. To make sure he doesn't come back."

"Ok, thanks Fred. Your my hero." And with that, she fell asleep. When George came back a few minutes later, Fred relayed the conversation between the two and told his twin how it made him feel.

"You've got it bad mate"

"I know Forge, I just don't know what to do about it."

"Tell her Gred. That's what you have to do."

"But Forge, you never tell a girl you like her, it just makes you look like an idiot. You know that."

"I know Gred, but if you don't want to then you are going to have to do better at hiding your emotions around her. They don't call her the brightest witch of her age for nothing you know."

"Ok, goodnight Forge."

"Night Gred." And with that, they both sat in chairs by Hermione's bedside and fell asleep.


End file.
